All posts by ashleyhackett2019

Illinois sees more gun trafficking from Indiana, crime data shows

By Ashley Hackett
Medill Reports

Gun regulations in Illinois have become more strict over the past five years, and guns used in Illinois crimes are coming increasingly from outside the state, a recent study shows.

Nearly 3,460 people were shot in Chicago in 2017, and the city saw 664 murders plus seven people killed by on-duty Chicago Police officers that year, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Michael Coates, a doctoral candidate studying American politics at the University of Maryland, co-authored a 2017 study examining state gun control policies. Coates concluded that guns linked to crime scenes are “more likely to be purchased in states with less regulatory barriers when a state increases the stringency of its gun control laws,” so the supply market will shift out of state.

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Northwestern students, community mourn Tree of Life Synagogue shooting victims

By Ashley Hackett
Medill Reports

Hundreds of Northwestern  University students and faculty, joined by community residents, gathered Monday night in a candlelight vigil on campus to mourn the loss of 11 members of the Jewish community who were shot at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh on Saturday.

The Northwestern chapter of Hillel, a worldwide Jewish campus organization, and Northwestern President Morton Schapiro invited the community to come together at Northwestern’s mid-campus monument “The Rock” to mourn the 11 victims and pray for the injured in Saturday’s horrific attack.

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Ten Chicago area stores sold 3,389 guns tied to Chicago crimes

By Ashley Hackett
Medill Reports

Ten Chicago area gun shops and sporting goods stores sold the most guns that were involved in Chicago crimes during the years 2013-2016, according to a report from the Chicago Police Department and the office of Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Chuck’s Gun Shop, located in Riverdale, sold nearly 1,000 of the 3,389 guns tied to the crimes and traced to the 10 stories during that three-year span, according to the 2017 report.

More than 393 million civilian-owned firearms are in circulation in the United States—enough for every American man, woman and child to own one and still have 67 million guns left over, according to the global Small Arms Survey.

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